Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon kicks off summer meals program to raise awareness, reach more hungry children

View full sizeLarry Bingham/The OregonianPartners for a Hunger-Free Oregon kicked off the Summer Meals program Wednesday at Montavilla Park in Northeast Portland.

Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith and Susan Castillo, Oregon state superintendent of public instruction, joined children's hunger advocates in Northeast Portland on Wednesday to kick off the Summer Meals program at Montavilla Park.

"We are trying hard to make sure those kids who get free or reduced lunch at school get the food they need in the summer," said Jessica Chanay, deputy director of Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture pays for the meals. Portland Public Schools cooks as many as 5,000 meals a day during the peak of the three months youngsters are out of school.

Organizations, from Portland Parks & Recreation to the Boys & Girls Club, then provide a place for the children and their families to receive the lunches. The meals are often supplemented with activities and games that are funded and organized by several local sponsors such as the Gates Foundation, PGE, Safeway, Schnitzer Steel, Adelsheim Vineyard and West Coast Bancorp, along with many others.

On Wednesday, the partnership celebrated new members KOIN (6) and Walmart. Store managers from the Cornelius and Happy Valley Walmarts presented the program with a check for $225,000.

"We know that when summer comes the brain for these kids is still developing," Castillo said. "This program provides not only a meal for these kids, but a safe place for them to come with their families. It's also about the enrichment experiences these children need."